


Nitroglycerin

by viceroyvonmutini



Series: LadiesofPOI-Kara Stanton (B) [6]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Just playing around, blowing stuff up, not really romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 06:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4127734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceroyvonmutini/pseuds/viceroyvonmutini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John was the diatomite to her nitroglycerin. Or something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nitroglycerin

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: bomb
> 
> I am not a chemist. Let's just all accept that nitroglycerin is kept in giant metal tanks for the purpose of this tale. 
> 
> Also John is the new guy, so it's early in their partnership. Just sort of wanted to imagine how they'd interact on missions.

'Are you sure you set the charges?'

'Yes.'

'Positive?'

'Yes.'

'Okay, so explain to me why there has yet to be an explosion.'

'I don't know Kara but it's through no fault of mine.'

'Right right, which is why the charges you set went off fine.'

'Is that sarcasm?'

'Yes John.'

'I promise you I set them just fine.'

'Simple C4 John: how could you mess this up?'

'Well that's impossible because I didn't mess it up.'

'Clearly you did.'

'Clearly someone else tampered with my charges.'

Kara shot him a look.

'Who John? The magical detonation faeries?'

'Yes.'

The two were prone on the snow-covered ground hidden by some natural mound in their white clothing, camouflaged against their snowy surroundings. Kara had possession of the binoculars, eyes trained on the warehouse facility that seemed as a small spec from their position. The warehouse was supposed to be a large pillar of fire and smoke and debris by this point but someone, and Kara had a pretty firm idea who, had messed up rigging the place with C4 to go boom.

Kara sighed.

'We're going to have to go down there and reset the charges.'

John turned to look are the woman, gaze firmly fixed through the binoculars.

'It's too dangerous.'

'Well if you hadn't fucked this up maybe we wouldn't have to do this.'

'Kara we can't just go storming in unprepared.'

'You still have the building schematics?'

'Yes.'

'Then we're fine. We go in, find a new way to blow the place, and get out. Home in time for a lovely long weekend off.'

'Kara we can't just find a new way to blow this place. And how are we going to get in?'

'The old fashioned way. Through a door.'

Kara finally tore her gaze from the warehouse, looking at her partner.

'You want to phone Snow and tell them we failed be my guest but I like my job and I like being alive. We'll go down and sort this. The factory is a weapons manufacturing plant, there will be something explosive down there we can use.'

'You want to break into a heavily guarded Russian weapons facility and blow it up with us still inside?'

'You like to live on the edge John. Come on.'

Kara stood up, pushing the binoculars into the bag over her shoulders and setting off down the hill. John watched her go a bit before sighing and following her lead.

 

'So what's the plan?'

'Haven't figured it out yet.'

'Well you might want to come up with something soon.'

'Do you still know the guard rotations?'

'I can remember.'

'Good. We need to slip in while we can. There's a set of back entrance tunnels down beneath the facility. We sneak in, go along the tunnels and come up inside the factory.'

'And resistance?'

'Shoot them. Stupid questions John: now is not the time for them.'

'And when we come up inside the factory?'

'We have the whole journey through the tunnel system to work that out. You're up: get us past the guards and don't fuck up this time.'

'I didn't mess this up,' muttered John but taking the lead, slowly making his way over to the heavily fortified warehouse.

'This way Kara, the hole I used to get through the fence might still be here.'

 

Hopping down into the tunnels Kara pulled out her handgun, flicking on the flashlight above the muzzle as she scanned the frozen damp concrete.

John followed close behind.

She began walking forwards, eyes on alert.

'They will have guards stationed down here.'

'I know. Unless they happen to be monumentally stupid but then, you did manage to get in the first time so I wouldn't put it past them.'

'I did not mess up those charges Kara.'

'Clearly you did or we wouldn't be in this situation.'

'I set them up like every other time we've blown a place.'

'You fucked up John. Get over it. We're dealing with it.'

'In the most reckless fashion available yes.'

'This is what you get for not letting me bring the rocket launcher.'

'Just as reckless Kara; you seem to be missing the point.'

'And you shouldn't really have a point to make considering your mess put us here.'

'And your plan is going to get us-' a flash of movement before them and John shot once, hearing the satisfying sound of a body fall to the ground,'-killed.'

'Nice shot. Let's keep moving.'

John obliged, falling into silence as the two followed the eerily silent tunnels deeper under the warehouse.

Kara kept her eyes focused but her mind was elsewhere: John was an idiot, a stupid idiot, and now she was paying for it. This plan was reckless and stupid-utterly inspired, but had a high mortality rate attached if they didn't get out in time. She wasn't even entirely sure they had what she needed for this plan to work but she made a wild, educated guess that a munitions factory would have what she needed.

She powered on.

'Stop,' she hissed, bringing John to an immediate halt as her stopped behind her. She peeked around the corner, pulling back at what she saw.

'3 guards. All armed.'

John nodded once. Kara paused, before firing three shots as she stepped out form behind their cover, each one hitting their mark. As Kara walked forward to inspect the corpses who barely had a chance to react to the assault John followed behind her, gun still poised.

'Those shots...' he began.

Kara nodded once.

'We need to keep moving.'

'Bullets?'

'Untraceable. Unlike you I'm not a complete novice at this.'

'Says the woman leading us into a death-trap.'

'Not by choice.'

'You could have left it.'

'Failure is not an option John.'

'Then we should have come up with a better plan.'

'Or,' Kara spun round, 'you shouldn't have messed up in the first place.'

'I didn't-'

'Spare me rookie. You did. Accept it. Move on. Follow the plan because it's the only one I've got.'

'Blow up the munitions factory with their own stuff? With us inside?'

'Yes. You have a better plan?'

'No not really, other than a slight preference we be outside when it happens.'

'We don't get that luxury. Now stop moaning and keep moving. You remember where the tunnel entrance is?'

'Blueprints are in my bag.'

'Then take them out and check while we move. Bring us out onto the factory floor.'

'The main-'

'Yes the main place. There or anywhere that screams 'explosives.''

Kara walked off as John pulled out the large roll of blueprints and began studying them as best he could on the move.

'Wait,' he called and Kara stopped, turning around and walking towards him.

'You find something?'

'Here,' he gestured with his eyes and Kara followed, 'chemical storage.'

Kara grinned.

'Perfect. Bring us up there.'

'I don't like the way making this situation better means death by chemical combustion,' muttered John as they began to walk again.

'The road to redemption is long John,' called Kara over her shoulder, far too cheery for their predicament.

 

'Are you sure it's here?'

'Yes, for the third time.'

'Excuse me for not trusting the man who can’t even correctly set C4 charges.'

If possible John's scowl grew.

'It's up this ladder,' he declared, rolling away the prints.

'Good. You go first.'

If he had any objections to the arrangement he didn't voice them as he slowly climbed his way up. Pushing open the cover to the hole slightly he scanned the surroundings as best he could, before safely climbing out. Kara quickly followed.

When she turned to cover their entrance John stopped her.

'Don't.'

'You want to alert everyone to how we got in?'

'Look around. We're in some sort of supply closet. No one will notice.'

'John-'

'Just think about it for a second: we're going to need a way out. I know you want to go out guns blazing but I don't want to get taken out at all.'

'We'll work on an escape when it comes to it.'

'Before or after you shoot a highly volatile chemical compound?'

Kara paused.

'Fine. We'll do it your way.'

Kara brushed past him and he watched her go.

Irritatingly for her he was probably right, she mused as she followed the corridor along slightly into a big open plan storage unit: annoyingly sensible, but right.

'How much you know about chemistry John?' she asked with glee as they scoured the room filled with various tanks and chemicals.'

'Not much.'

‘Time for a little lesson.'

Kara put down her gun, letting it hang at her side as she tried to find what she was looking for.

'The guy who invited dynamite-'

'Alfred Nobel.'

'Exactly. Mr Nobel, of Peace Prize fame. See you do know something.'

'I said 'not much', not 'nothing'.'

'Before his efforts in world peace,' Kara holstered her weapon, hand running along a specific tank and the feel of it caused her to smile, 'he was famous for inventing dynamite.'

She circled the tank as John watched, gun still at the ready.

'Do you know how dynamite is made John?'

'No.'

'It is made in a number of different ways,' her hand felt the underside of the tank and her grin grew, 'with a number of secondary chemicals and ingredients but the primary ingredient,' she knelt down next to the tank, giving her greater access to it's underside, 'is nitroglycerin.'

She pulled her hand away and pulled of her backpack, reaching inside for the wire cutters before lying down on the stone floor and sticking her head beneath the tank's underside.

'Watch my back,' came her slightly echoing voice, 'you've probably heard of nitroglycerin but did you know it has a number of interesting properties?'

John heard a snip and Kara swiftly pulled herself out from her position, grabbed her back and clambered upright.

'We have to go now John,' she ordered, running past him and he immediately followed, stealth tactics abandoned.

'What did you do?' he asked, breathless as they ran.

Kara smiled.

'Nitroglycerin is usually transported frozen-it's pure liquid form is too unstable. Most countries have more sophisticated methods but Russia isn't exactly hot on health and safety.'

'And what does that have to do with anything?'

'When nitroglycerin cools,' they pulled open the storage cupboard doors 'go go go,' hurried Kara pushing John down before following, closing the hatch tightly.

John had stopped beneath the ladder.

'Keep moving you-' the tunnel seemed to shake as an explosion rattled the factory, ‘stop standing and start moving. The tunnel still might collapse.'

John obliged as Kara jumped down from the ladder and the two ran.

'Is the factory destroyed?'

'That section definitely is. I'm hoping the explosives might spread. Cooled nitroglycerin is desensitised: bringing it back up to room temperature needs to be done with precision and control. I cut the cooling tubes to the tank.'

'Making it volatile and unstable.'

'Without it's stabilising components found in dynamite, yes. It's pretty useless on it's own because one wrong move and everything goes to shit.'

'And the tank explodes, liquid nitroglycerin goes everywhere-'

'Setting off more secondary explosions. Although technically speaking it isn't the liquid nitroglycerin but the shockwave from the original blast that I hope might set things going.'

'You didn't know if this would work?'

'I didn't know they would even have any nitroglycerin John: we were working on a clock.'

'So you didn't have a plan?'

'No not really.'

They reached the entrance they had used to enter and climbed out, running across the snow capped ground, boots crunching as the factory behind them roared in flames.

'I'd like to get out of here as quickly as possible before something else explodes.'

'You set off a highly delicate explosive in the most reckless manner possible.'

'Did you have a better idea?'

'No, but I would have preferred one with a higher survival rate.'

'We're alive.'

'Not the point.'

'Well next time maybe set the charges correctly. You had one job John.'

'I didn't set them wrong.'

Another explosion rattled the factory, sending debris flying. The two dove to the ground, hands over their heads. When it had settled, John raised his head and looked at Kara, eyebrows raised.

'That was my C4.'

'Only took a dose of nitroglycerin right?'

Kara stood up, brushing the snow off her front.

'Didn't set them wrong my ass. Come on, I need a drink.'


End file.
